Redskins Rising

Chaotic offseason leads to summer of hope.

- Brian McNally

The Redskins lost their general manager, defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers and best defensive lineman this past offseason.

And yet Washington appears to have come through that chaos with a reasonable chance to compete again in the NFC East and push for a playoff spot.

That didn’t seem possible in March when former general manager Scot McCloughan didn’t show for the NflCombine in Indianapolis and was soon fired in a bitter ending. Neither side came out of that drama clean.

But the Redskins did their best to rescue the offseason. They answered questions about coach Jay Gruden’s future by offering him a two-year contract extension. Gruden will call the plays as he did in his first year with Washington.

Matt Cavanaugh was promoted to offensive coordinator to replace Sean McVay, now the Los Angeles Rams head coach. And Greg Manusky was promoted to defensive coordinator from outside linebackers coach. Manusky took over for the fired Joe Barry.

With the coaching staff remaining reasonably stable under the circumstances, the Redskins set out to rebuild their receiver corps. DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon departed via free agency. No team in Nflhistory had ever lost two 1,000-yard wide receivers in one offseason. But Washington added another one in Terrelle Pryor, Sr., who arrived from Cleveland after a 1,000-yard season.

Pryor is a big, physical presence (6-feet-4, 228 pounds) for quarterback Kirk Cousins, which he hasn’t had during his two years as a starter. Add 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson (6-2, 206), now healthy following Achilles tendinitis, and free-agent signing Brian Quick (63, 218) and you have a much more imposing group. But production matters, too, and Doctson has to prove he can stay healthy while Pryor shows that his first full season as a converted receiver wasn’t a fluke.